In January 2025, a high-level delegation from Ethiopia spent three days in Rwanda engaging with their counterparts and exploring innovative, scalable solutions for youth skills development and job creation. Rwanda’s strategic approach—prioritizing digital literacy, fostering entrepreneurship, and mobilizing both public and private investment to build an enabling environment for small and medium-sized enterprises—has positioned the country as an exemplar in preparing young people for the demands of a modern workforce.
During this Leadership Exchange, 23 Ethiopian leaders from three regions (collectively representing a population of over 80 million people) engaged in strategic discussions with their Rwandan counterparts to understand how the government formulated and rolled out its program to address the disparity between young people’s skills and the needs of the job market, which has been a key component of achieving Rwanda’s larger goal of attaining upper middle income status by 2050.
The central focus of the interventions showcased by the Rwandans involved the integration of entrepreneurship and digital literacy into the primary and secondary school curricula—a multi-sectoral initiative led by the Ministries of Education, ICT and Innovation, and Public Service and Labor. In addition, the visiting delegation explored Rwanda’s pro-active efforts to bolster the environment for entrepreneurs, for example the reforms led by the Rwanda Development Board to streamline business regulations so as to ease market entry and expansion of small and medium enterprises; the government’s collaboration with entities such as Norrsken Kigali that provide affordable shared workspaces and support services for entrepreneurs to incubate their businesses; and efforts to entice major international tech companies to situate and provide employment opportunities in Rwanda.
